Influence of revascularization on long-term outcome in patients > or =75 years of age with diabetes mellitus and angina pectoris.

Little is known about the effect of revascularization in patients > or =75 years of age with symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) for whom periprocedural risk and overall mortality are increased. Therefore, we examined the 301 patients of the Trial of Invasive versus Medical therapy in the Elderly with symptomatic CAD (TIME) with special regard to diabetic status. Patients were randomized to an invasive versus optimized medical strategy. The median follow-up was 4.1 years (range 0.1 to 6.9). Patients with DM (n = 69) had a greater incidence of hypertension (73% vs 58%, p = 0.03), > or =2 risk factors (93% vs 46%, p <0.01), previous heart failure (22% vs 12%, p = 0.04), and previous myocardial infarction (59% vs 43%, p = 0.02), and a lower left ventricular ejection fraction (48% vs 54%, p = 0.02) than did patients without DM. Mortality was greater in patients with DM than in those without DM (41% vs 25%, p = 0.01; adjusted hazard ratio 1.86, p = 0.01). Revascularization improved the overall survival rate from 61% (no revascularization) to 79% (p <0.01; adjusted hazard ratio 1.68, p = 0.03), an effect similarly observed in patients with and without DM. The event-free survival rate was 11% in nonrevascularized patients with DM compared with 40% in nonrevascularized patients without DM and 41% and 53% in revascularized patients with and without DM, respectively (p <0.01). Angina severity and antianginal drug use were similar for patients with and without DM, but those with DM performed worse in daily activities and physical functioning. In conclusion, elderly diabetic patients with chronic angina have a worse outcome than those with DM but benefit similarly from revascularization regarding symptom relief and long-term outcome. However, physical functioning related to daily activities is reduced in those with DM and may need special attention.